Huge 1st quarter helps Knights steamroll Trojans
Sparta – Returning the favor from last year’s homecoming visit, Robbinsville made the 250-mile trek to Alleghany County on Friday.
All told, the program’s Sparta debut lasted less than five hours – and the Black Knights quickly showed the hosting Trojans that they are not paid on a salary, delivering a 22-point first quarter and spoiling the dedication of renovations to Alleghany’s John Woodruff Field by posting a thunderous 35-7 win.
Robbinsville (4-0) needed just 55 seconds to delete the zero from its side of the scoreboard, with Cuttler Adams breaking free on a 57-yard sprint to the end zone. The Knights’ touted senior running back finished the contest with 109 yards on 14 carries and now sits just 980 yards behind the school – and Smoky Mountain Conference – leader, Rylee Anderson. Adams has trampled his way to 5,184 rushing yards; Anderson had 6,164 when he finished his career for Robbinsville.
Adams cemented the first-round haymaker with a conversion run, before senior fullback Kage Williams rumbled through the line on a 4-yard carry at the 7:45 mark. For good measure, he tacked on the two-point trot.
Reeling, Alleghany (1-3) struggled to get into a tempo on offensive and found itself unable to effectively move the chains. In turn, Robbinsville’s senior quarterback Donovan Carpenter got in on the scoring bonanza with a 6-yard keeper in the closing seconds of the period.
Fully in control, the Knights took their foot off the offensive accelerator for the remainder of the visit. Their final two strikes came on a 5-yard Chase Calhoun burst, with 2:24 left in the second quarter; and a 26-yard pass from Carpenter to Roman Jones, with 8:53 remaining in the third. Following the latter, Dalton Wiggins split the uprights for his first PAT of the season.
Then, there was the Robbinsville defense – which turned in another impressive showing by running the season balance in scoring for the Knights to 129-30, in favor of the Knights. In three showings, Robbinsville’s opposition has scored seven points or less.
Darion Ledbetter picked off Trojans gunslinger Mack LeMasters on two separate occasions – both of which set up transitional scores for the Black Knights, in the form of the Williams run and Jones reception, respectively. Tillman Adams leapt into the night to nab the third pick of the game in the fourth quarter.
Oddly enough, Alleghany’s lone score of the evening came after Tillman’s interception. Wiggins was poised for a 26-yard field goal, but John LeMasters promptly batted the attempt down and before a reaction could register, took off for the end zone on an 85-yard return.
Tillman and Kasen Buchanan were also nice enough to clean up a pair of Trojan fumbles in the game; Noah Lyon scooped up a Robbinsville bobble in the third quarter.
The Knights will now enjoy their bye week, while also mentally prepping for a tough opponent Friday, Sept. 22: Rabun Gap, Ga. The Eagles also carry a 4-0 mark and have defeated teams from Tennessee (Baylor High School, Chattanooga); Georgia (Sequoyah High School, Canton); and North Carolina (Christ School, Arden).